


all the things she said

by teasingyourtears



Category: Pacific Rim (2013), Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2015-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-11 09:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1171691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teasingyourtears/pseuds/teasingyourtears
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They said sometimes ghost drifting occurs. They never said it would last; they certainly never told us it would help fix two broken persons and meld their hearts. </p><p>Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Pitch Perfect and Pacific Rim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. she's my co-pilot.

"Left leg takes hit! Left leg crippled!"

The epileptic red lights keep flashing as sparks and loose wires fray about in the cabin. Rain is coming in through the crack in the hull, whilst the siren – activated, blares through the sickening sound of metal being crushed.

Above the roar from the 10,000 tons of horror.

It's finally happening.

"This is Marshal Herc to  _Ai_. Do you copy? Rangers, do you copy?" Why does he sound so angry? "Rangers!"

No, that's the sound of... The sound my mom made when she chased me away from the inferno that was my old house back in Florida. Right before that thing crashed into my room, my parents' room, the kitchen-

_Her room. Where am I?_

_Oh._

"Mar- Marshal." I try. "We-"

"Stay calm and get out of there. Now!"

Another explosion. "Nuclear reactor compromised."

"Rangers!"

* * *

Everyone was happy after the crew from  _Gypsy Danger_  emerged and popped out from the depths of Pacific Ocean. The papers reported that the two rangers hugged when they found out they were alive – they lied. Who would have passed up a romantic moment like that for a sweet embrace?

Or at least that was what my scientist friend told me. You could trust Fat Amy with things like this. Right?

Anyway, back to that day. It was very early in the morning and the battle had been very long. People were killed – my favorite _Cherno Alpha_  crashed just moments into battle (what the hell was that?!) and good ol' Pentecost had sacrificed himself. The Breach was utterly destroyed and mankind shall live forever.

That was what Marshal Herc Hansen said when he told them Shatterdome mechanics to stop the clock. So they did and everyone stopped counting.

Not everyone. And that was the surprise.

* * *

It was five years after the Breach was breached when it happened.

Overnight, the cities around the Caribbean were flattened. Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti. No one survived. They came, they stomped and roared, and they left, leaving behind seismic aftershocks as they disappeared down the Milwaukee Deep.

They found a new portal.

We should have known.

* * *

They kept coming in the weeks after. Port cities along Florida, Texas, Buenos Aires, Seville and Lisbon were destroyed. Each a category 4.

"They're sending a message," Fat Amy said, her mouth full of strawberry sundae as she sat next to me on my family couch on a lazy Sunday.

"What message?"

She shrugged, licking the last bit of strawberry jam from the cup.

* * *

Dr Gottlieb couldn't explain the infrequency – he looked absolutely distraught and frenzied when he appeared on the news across the globe. It's funny how after five years, his eyes were still red. And he kept using that handkerchief to cover his nose.

Maybe it's to keep the nosey reporters off.

* * *

The PPDC finally got the decommissioned  _Coyote Tango_  back and he was en route towards  _The Cleft_.

Mom, Dad, Fat Amy and I were seated around the television – all eyes obviously glued to the glitchy screen. The remaining technicians didn't quite fix the signal poles around after Rhino crashed through town back in 2013. Eh.

"Look, that's a Category 4.5!" Ugh, she spilled her pudding on me again.

My dad laughed. "How do you know it's a category 4  **point 5** , Amy?"

"Easy," she quipped, handing me a napkin before she stuck out her right index finger, "number one: this looks like she weighs easily a 7000 tons. Number two: she's an improvement on Knifehead with those two nasty-looking blades on her arms. Number three: I'm a Neurobiologist with a minor in Kaiju studies."

"I don't believe you."

"Just keep wiping your crotch, Beca."

* * *

_Coyote Tango_  never returned.

President Aegan's face was plastered over all the screens across the nations the next day. Marshal Herc was standing next to him as he spoke into the microphone.

"We need Rangers," he said. "we're fighting back."

* * *

"I'm going."

I opened my mouth to laugh, only to have it choked right in my throat when I saw the overstuffed duffel bags hanging off her body as she stood under the door lintel. Her face was serious, and by serious, I meant  _really serious._ It is Fat Amy without the word Fat.

"You're crazy. You haven't even moved a limb since you were born and you want to be a Ranger?"

"Yes. I want to help. Are you coming?"

* * *

Marshal Herc managed to build another Shatterdome at a salvaged Miami within a record time of 4 months. It was bigger, more massive than the one in Hong Kong. The Government has learnt their lesson.

Strange thing was, after the  _Coyote Tango_  incident, the monsters never came back.

The sky was overcast when Fat Amy and I hopped off the chopper after it landed at the port. A goofy-looking brunette was there waiting with an armful of umbrellas that he held out for us.

"Hi guys, welcome to Port Miami!" He yelled over the roar of thunder and pouring rain. "You must be Amy Wilson and Beca Mitchell. Hi! I'm Jesse Swanson!"

"Who are you?" Fat Amy asked, grabbing the biggest umbrella of the lot and opening it swiftly. She and I never shared an umbrella for obvious reasons.

"I'm a Jaeger designer. I work for and under Dr Caitlin Lightcap on Jaeger Tech."

"It's freezing here! Can we talk after we got in?"

Who would have known, Fat Amy's scared of the cold.

* * *

Fat Amy huddled close to me, all wrapped up in the extra woolen jackets my mom's packed for her. We took a gander around the room, now slowly filling with fresh-faces and white wisps of hot breaths.

There was an angry-looking Chinese triplets who had  _Wei_  stamped all over their faces. Dressed in crimson, they stalked around the darkest corner of the room, mumbling to themselves. Across from them were a pair of fraternal twins – very blonde and well-kept. Stern, even. They also kept to themselves, sitting upright on the hardwood bench.

They're looking over.

"Hey." Oh good, someone to distract me from those scary-pokes. "Where are you from?"

I whisked my head around and found myself staring into a pair of really blue eyes. Azure? Sky? Cerulean. She smiled and held out her hand. I tried to move my eyes down to the outstretched hand so that I could stop staring but I couldn't.

I was stuck. Eyes. Nose. Hair.

Red hair. Really flowing red hair.

"Heh." Oh boy, how sweet was that sound. "You're- You're staring. Are you alright?"

"I- I- Uh.. Yeah. I-"

"Haha! You're adorable. I'm Chloe, I'm from Tampa." Her hand's still outstretched. Okay, I should totally grab it. Grab it tighter, Beca.

"Beca." That was easy.

She smiled, showing her teeth.

"Beca."

* * *

Fat Amy was probably the one with the biggest appetite in the room. But she couldn't eat, couldn't bring herself, she said.

"That Marshal jerk doesn't know what he's talking about. How could Bumper get in and not me!" She groused in between mouthfuls of hamburgers and mashed potatoes. "I am what, 200 pounds of awesome!"

"I thought you said you have no appetite."

"I changed my mind. This is good."

"Better than Hong Kong's," a third voice chimed in, followed by a light clinking of the crockery on the table as the newcomer sat himself down next to her.

"You don't say," she mumbled, bits of mash and meat falling off her open mouth as I quickly handed her a napkin. "You're Dr Newton Geiszler!"

"Just call me Newt. Only my mom calls me Dr. So, I read your rep and you stated you took a minor in Kaiju studies?" Nice wink there, dr. I looked between the two and sighed – knowing my presence there was no longer needed.

* * *

It was three months into the training regime. Everyday we'd wake up at 4 in the morning, wash up before being whisked to the combat area for physical. Each day comprised three physicals by martial artists and two tactical lectures by Marshal Herc. Within the span of 90 days, I've learnt how to beat the crap out of Kaijus whilst getting my biceps and abs more defined.

None of us had been paired up yet – Marshal Herc hadn't quite decided the list of candidates to man the five Jaegers. The machines were almost finished but Jesse said they were still lacking in the human touch.

"Human touch?" I whispered, walking close to him behind the group as Tendo guided us across the hangar.

"Yeah," he whispered right back, as if seeking fun in some secret conspiracy that he's formed in his head. "You see, the mechs in the past had their own character, you know? Like,  _Gypsy_  was some sort of celebrated hero and,  _Cherno-_ " I swore my eyes lit up at his words, "-why are your eyes so big? Anyway,  _Cherno_  had this robust personality because it's Russian, right? But now what I'm doing is for the mech to emulate its brains and heart."

"The people piloting the Jaeger, you mean?"

"Yeah. So until Herc gets the list of candidates for me, I can't possibly program that in," he shrugged, casting an annoyed look towards the Local Command Center (LOCCENT) overlooking the hangar. "He better get that list soon."

I set my eyes on my redheaded training partner walking right in front of me as I listened to him rant on about programing.

* * *

Day 115.

Kaiju signatures had been reported off the coast of Miami. Far, but close enough.

Still no attacks.

* * *

Back in the lab, Dr Newt and Fat Amy had been dissecting preserved Kaiju parts – particularly the most recent carcass before that CT incident. Brains, guts, stomach contents, heart,  _secondary_ heart – it had got to be Fat Amy's most treasured moment of her lifetime.

"Newt gave me his spare black tie! It was really just a black skinny sash, actually." She told me during breakfast on day 116.

I've been counting.

"So did you find anything interesting?"

She shook her head sadly, dropping her spoon and spilling some soup, "Nah. I wanted to try drifting but Newt stopped me. I thought he was a rock star."

"Mitchell." I frowned and turned around, not liking the voice standing behind me.

Aubrey Posen. The female half of the blonde twins. Just like her well-kept appearance, she was aloof, ambitious and bitingly fearsome. Quite unlike her womanizing brother, Luke.

"Aubrey," I greeted, mustering my most nonchalant voice ever and gaining an eyeroll from her. "What do you want?"

"Marshal wants us to meet at LOCCENT in 5."

"The list is out?"

Blank stare.

"Fine." She walked away, almost marching.

* * *

Jesse ran over and hugged me, lifting me off the ground the moment I walked past the glass doors to LOCCENT. For a geeky design technician, he sure had the strength of a fighter.

"You're so light! You should eat more," he exclaimed, setting me back down and ushering me towards an empty seat next to his.

The room was relatively empty; the triplets were there – again sitting in some darker corner compared to the rest. A couple of French and Germans huddled around Tendo as he explained the ongoings behind the command controls. The rest were missing, probably still being gathered and sheepdogged by Aubrey.

"So," the bumbling brunette next to me nudged me in the arm, "in a few moments, I'm going to have the list of people whom I shall emulate the Jaegers to. Aren't you excited?"

I shook my head, my eyes fixed on the entrance as I awaited the arrival of-

"Beca! Can I sit next to you?" I eagerly nodded my head, shoving Jesse by the shoulders as we scooted down the table to make space. "Aubrey just told me that Marshal Herc finally has the list. I'm so excited!"

I found myself smiling at her bright enthusiasm just as the man himself appeared at the glass entrance with Aubrey and Luke flanking him. She caught my eyes and grinned.

So full of smug.

"Candidates," the man boomed as he took the seat at the head of the table, "thank you for coming on such short notice. It has been a good four months training with you. Each and everyone of you is a brave soul – willing to sacrifice for the sake of our world. For that, I applaud you."

A few appreciative claps resonated around the room at his words, dying down quicker than it should. Everyone's nervous.

Five Jaegers, ten Rangers – out of the 35 of us seated in this room.

The man cleared his throat again, his steel grey eyes roaming across the table studying every young face. Young, because no one older than 26 was crazy enough to come forth during Marshal Herc's recruitment speech.

"I have the list here – a complicated algorithm that would pit each of you against the other on the stage. At the end of the process, we will know who is drift-compatible with whom. And after, ten fine Rangers will be picked and paired for combat mission. Our Jesse lad here will assign each pair to the designated Jaeger. We'll meet at the Kwoon Combat Room at 1100hours. You have exactly two hours to prepare yourself."

With that, he rose again and disappeared behind the glass doors.

The Posen twins did not follow him this time.

* * *

Red alert, red alert.

The alarm blasted for the first time since I entered the Shatterdome. Riggers and mechanics were running amok, each rushing to his or her designated positions and the Command Center's suddenly packed full of people. Tendo's gripping on to the microphone, yelling some military code.

An octopus-shaped Kaiju was sighted a few minutes ago off the coast of Sweden near Gothenburg. Thankfully, the EU had finished their own Jaeger program just a week ago and now  _Ijus Korsfarare_  was en route to the oncoming threat.

A blinking red dot was fast approaching its green counterpart on the hologram.

"What category is this son of a gun?" Marshal Herc demanded, pushing his way through a horde of mechanics towards Tendo.

"Category... Category 5, sir."

The room fell silent as we watched the two dots merged.

* * *

" _Ijus Korsafarare_  is a Mark 6 Jaeger, with nuclear missiles and adamantium blades lining its arms!" Jesse gushed, his face lost in his hands. "I can't believe... I can't believ-"

"Hey, at least the twins killed that bastard before they went down," I rubbed his shoulder and sighed empathetically.

He sniffed and slowly lifted his eyes towards me. "What am I supposed to do, Beca?"

"Build them stronger."

* * *

The Kwoon Combat Room was the place where we had our physicals. Punching bags lined a side of the vast room whilst mats piled up in the other. Even Bumper managed to lose the fats and exchange them for muscles in this very room that smelled of expired sweat and hours worked.

The room fell silent the moment an ashen-faced Marshal entered. His lips pursed and his brows furrowed as he contemplated his next instructions. Jesse nudged me a "see you later" and hopped off towards the man.

"Candidates," he begun, his voice not as confident as before, "I'm sure you've all heard the news. From now on, we're going to train better, we're going to train harder, we're going to train stronger. All of you – whether you get in the program or not. Because we're all going to fight this together."

Nods, nods everywhere.

He stared at us one last time before handing the floor over to Jesse. The brunette gulped a little, his eyes fixed on me while rubbing his palms against the back of his jeans.

* * *

The process was simple enough: you exchange blows and then you... Sing.

Weird combination.

The purpose was compatibility – a dialogue, not a fight.

Each of us was pre-paired with a group of people of whom Marshal Herc, Tendo and Dr. Caitlin Lightcap thought compatible.

35 candidates, five groups.

* * *

"Ugh!" A strawberry blonde named Ashley Jackson laid spray-eagle across the mat with her  _jo_ nearby. I reached out my hand and she gingerly grabbed it. "Thanks."

"2, 4. Last pair: Beca Mitchell v. Chloe Beale. Barehanded combat. Candidates, get ready!"

The redhead circled around me, her hands and forearms raised and readied with our eyes fixed on each other. I could hear my breathing – erratic and laborious from the earlier fight, as I raised my own fists. Without warning, the redhead jumped and vaulted through the air, her right foot coming towards my jaw.

 _Block._  I caught her foot just inches away from my face and I attempted to twist it when she kicked and back-somersaulted to her original position, arms still raised with a smirk present on her face.

_That seemed familiar._

"1 point to 0."

Chloe's got a weak ankle. I darted my eyes up at hers, just in time to see her peeking at her own Achilles' heel too. The smirk was gone, replaced with a frown as I squatted and swept a roundhouse kick at her ankle, sending her flying to a further end of the mat.

"1 all."

"Nice kick, Mitchell."

"I try."

"Well, try this!" Unf, that hurt. I panted from my current position on the mat, my hand clutching at my chest.

"2 points to 1."

The redhead smirked again and ambled over, her hand outstretched towards me just like Day 1. I smiled back in kind, grabbing hold of her hand and pulled her right down, wrapping my legs over her torso and flipping us over – me now gaining the top position with my hand gripping her neck. She gasped and her eyes flew wide open.

The smirk was back again.

"What the-"

In a swift turn of events, she managed to flip us over with my own hand choking my neck.

She didn't even break out in sweat.

* * *

The next and last task was held after lunch. I had to drag my aching body through the hungry crowd, my tray shaking in my hand as I sought out Fat Amy from amongst the sea of people with a bruised elbow.

"Beca! Over here!" The blonde was all smiles as I took my seat next to her, her dinner already half-polished off. "What took you so long?"

"We had the compatibility trials today. Just finished part one. Damned, I'm famished."

She bit her lower lip as she watched me chow down a heaped spoonful of risotto, her features seemingly worried. "How did it go?"

I gave a non-committal shrug, "No idea. I did manage to beat some of the people in my group though but none of them felt right. Except one."

"Chloe?" I halted.

"How did you-"

"Knew it."

* * *

We gathered again an hour after lunch. It was close to the stipulated bedtime and everybody was drained. Well, not exactly everyone – only those who have completed the first round and made it to the watershed list.

Based on the event that happened off the coast of Gothenburg today, it wasn't exactly a good list to be on.

"Keep your heads up. Thanks to the extensive research done by Dr Rachel Cooper from the K-Science lab, it was found that singing can stimulate the minds and help in searching out the mind-meldables. In a world of silence, you will have to seek out each other's voice and recognize it over the noise of memories."

Marshal Herc paused and looked over his list.

"16 people left on this list. Let's get started. Luke, Aubrey."

The Posen siblings were each given a noise-canceling headset and a single piece of paper with lyrics written on. Jesse nudged and winked, jutting his chin towards the paper as he whispered.

"I wrote those."

"You wrote gibberish?" I jibed, "oh wow. Congratulations."

Okay, I totally deserved the slap on the arm.

The rest of us watched as the siblings attempted to sing without prior knowledge of the song; their headpieces preventing them from hearing each other as they tried to harmonize.

Except for one missed note on Luke's end, it was perfect.

* * *

"Beca, Chloe – you're up. You're the last pair."

The redhead smiled apologetically at me, her eyes wandering down my bandaged elbow.

"Sorry." I curled my lips up and proceeded to pull the headset over my ears. Wow, this must be -9 decibels. A piece of paper was thrust into my hands and I looked over the words.

I was right. Gibberish.

Jesse motioned at us to start and I threw a glance at Chloe. She returned a small nod, her mouth opening to sing. I watched her lips part and close for a moment before completely shutting my eyes.

My own lips parting.

* * *

"Hey."

I paused my action – my keys hanging off the lock as I wheeled around to face an excited redhead.

"I think we'll make it."

_It? The list?_

I nodded, gesturing at my door and effectively yawning to tell her to leave and bother me tomorrow. She grinned and took one more step up towards my bunker.

Towards me.

"Good night, partner."

I didn't wash my left cheek that night. I didn't think I can.

* * *

Marshal Herc stood tall and mighty at the foot of the first Jaeger built in North America ever since  _Coyote Tango_ went under with its crew. He almost looked proud. The obviously quivering with excitement brunette that was Jesse who stood right next to him appeared pretty smug himself.

Why wouldn't he?

Five magnificent Jaegers – each its own beast, measuring 30 stories high and weighed at least 5000 tons ("of awesome", to quote Fat Amy). All housed in the busy hangar in which we now stood awaiting Marshall's speech.

Ten of us.

"Congratulations, dear  **Rangers**." His voice rugged and solemn.

"Welcome onboard the Jaeger program."

* * *

"Told you we'd get it!" She chirped, her hand in mine as we followed Jesse and Dr Lightcap towards our designated Jaeger. "I'm so excited to see  _Ai_!"

I frowned, turning towards Jesse before asking, "Why the hell did you call my machine  _Ai_?"

" _Our_  machine, Beca."

* * *

" _Ai_  is love in Mandarin Chinese." Dr Lightcap said softly, her eyes twinkling behind her glasses. "Why do we fight, Rangers?"

Silence. She chuckled lightly, pushing her glasses further up her nose bridge.

"Because we love. We protect what we love."


	2. Operation Biscayne Bay

Turned out, _Ai_ was the most fearsome of the five.

Not that the rest weren't awesome. I just wanted everyone to know that _Ai_ was definitely better than _Lemon Playlist_.

Definitely.

* * *

Painted blood red with white highlights, complete with nuclear missile launchers flanking its waist and deadly retractable adamantium chain swords on both arms, it certainly cut its own amongst the five.

"This is an upgrade on the _Gypsy_ , actually. Look-' the brunette shook my left shoulder and pointed excited at the Jaeger's arms as we crossed the Catwalk, "we kept the Plasmacasters and the Nuclear Vortex Turbine. What I did was to reduce the time needed to charge the load and inflict some **really** badass injuries."

I nodded, feeling my eyes roam the sexy thing that was _Ai_. It did have the shadow of the _Gypsy Danger_.

Jesse cleared his throat - his arm up and lifted, ushering us towards the Drivesuit Room where we were tasked to change into our circuitry suit: a black body suit that let us merge our nervous system with that of the Jaeger's.

"Okay," he chirped as we emerged from the changing rooms, "my technicians will help you guys get outfitted into your Drivesuits. Then we'll head into the Conn-Pod for the trial run. You guys are up first."

* * *

"Two pilots onboard."

"I'll take the right if you don't mind," she smiled, stomping over in a similar red and white Drivesuit while pulling her hair up into a bun. "I noticed that you're a Lefty."

I bowed my head slightly, face probably burning red at the close proximity of our bodies. I could almost smell the shampoo from her hair. Lavender.

"Uh, sure."

I watched her part her mouth once more, a quip or two lingering on those lips when the technicians came in with the helmets, red polycarbonated with a full-faced, tinted visor. Once secured, they attached the spinal clamps in and Chloe giggled when the metal crawlies made contact with her back. We waited for the golden Relay Gel to be released and that's when we saw another of Jesse's brilliance: Head-up display.

"Iron Man, much?" She laughed, influencing my own to bubble.

A thermal blueprint of the Jaeger was shown clearly on the top left hand corner of the HUD; directly below across the screen was a 360 panoramic x-ray view of our surroundings in pale green. The top right hand corner gave us the estimated characteristics of a Kaiju.

And then it disappeared.

"Jesse to Rangers, Jesse to Rangers. Do you copy?"

I turned to see Chloe smiling through her visor, her cerulean eyes piercing against the red and white suit.

"Yes Jesse, we copy. Loud and clear. What's up with the vanishing HUD by the way?"

I rolled my eyes at the embarrassed chuckle that followed.

"Uh, that wasn't supposed to be up- well it was if you're not connected to the pod yet. I engineered that in after the Hansens got stuck in Operation Pitfall and had to get out from the latch. We have installed an armory in each Jaeger's Conn-pod just in case of emergencies and you need to be on your feet, alright? Okay girls, go into position and be ready to get inside each other's head."

We replied an affirmative before stepping and locking our boots into the respective pod-space, our arms immediately attached to robotic controls.

"Hey."

I arched my eyebrows and whisked my eyes towards my right. There she was with that smirk again.

"Welcome to my world. Don't get too lost in it."

* * *

"Initiate Neural Handshake."

Tendo's voice echoed through the speakers. Chloe gave me one last nod of confidence before we're both plunged into a seemingly endless warp. That's when I saw it.

I saw it.

Felt it.

_Went through it._

* * *

" _Chloe! Come out and hang out with us! Summer is ending!" Jean yelled, waving her arms over her head._

" _Not today, girls!"_

" _But we haven't had much sun for the past few weeks! Come on, Chloe!"_

_It was one of the late August afternoons. A Sunday afternoon, actually. Mommy and Daddy were both home for the first time ever since Daddy's came back from that dreary business trip. He was an UN rep._

" _Oh, you can go with Jean and Sara. We're fine here," Mommy chided, patting me on my back as I stacked the last clean dish into the cupboard._

_I shook my head, lunging forward to bury my face in her bosom. I loved her scent – Jasmine mixed with honeysuckle. She chuckled and pulled me in tighter. We stayed like that in the kitchen for a while before Daddy came along and decided to make this a group hug. I loved group hugs._

_A loud commotion outside where Jean and Sara were standing broke us from our blessed reverie. Screams and shouts echoed through the neighborhood as chaos started building around us. Daddy turned pale immediately as undecipherable sounds came in from the den where the TV was._

" _Edgar?" Mommy asked, pulling me along with her as we followed him. She gasped when she saw the screen._

_Kaiju. Charging through the city of Tampa._

" _Oh my God! Edgar, get Chloe out of here!"_

" _I can't, I've got to make some calls. Listen to me," Daddy started to pull an increasingly frantic Mommy towards him, his hands on both her shoulders, shaking her a little. "Listen to me, Meg; listen to me! Take the Rover and Chloe and drive far away. As up north as you could!"_

" _Daddy? Mommy?"_

_A sickening roar – slightly high-pitched lion's roar echoed through the air, followed by sounds of cars crashing into each other and their alarms going haywire._

_Daddy turned towards Mommy, his blue eyes wide open with flicks of red reflected from her hair_

_and the flames behind us._

_Then everything slowed down suddenly, as if someone's turned on the slow motion._

* * *

Ugh! We both fell backwards as we exited each other's memories into the _headspace._ Panting slightly, I peered over at the redhead to find her pale as sheet; her face covered with beads of sweat.

Before I could say anything, my right arm started moving – forward before jutting backward. Same thing with my left.

"Left Hemisphere calibrated. Right Hemisphere calibrated. Ready to activate Jaeger."

* * *

"Hey you."

Her slumped shoulders picked up and tensed at the sound of my voice. I could tell that her breaths were erratic by the white wisps escaping from her mouth.

Miami climate sure was weird this time of the year.

She didn't respond the second time – even when I was just standing right behind her, diagonally with my left toes touching the back of her pants. Her eyes just continually fixed themselves on the horizon when the waves disappeared over the edge. Nudge. Nudge nudge.

"Hey." Feeble. Good enough.

I squatted down next to her and reached out to swat at the wet leaves when she wrapped her freezing fingers around my wrist. "I'm okay."

She's looking at me now, her eyes red and puffy.

"I'm okay."

* * *

That night, she repeated the words into my ears before she slipped off into slumber; her red locks pooled in the trench between our shoulders.

_I'm okay. I'm okay._

And then a shudder – that's when we both _heard_ it. My eyes shot wide open and goosebumps harvested across my skin. But she remained still, willing her breathing shallow and routined.

_I'm not._

* * *

"Woohoo! Go Beca!"

Fat Amy was being Fat Amy, bouncing up and down amongst the audience next to a beaming Dr Geiszler and a stoic-faced Dr Gottlieb. The hangar was packed to its brim – riggers, mechanics, all of J-Tech people. Even those who were cut from the program but remained to help in other ways.

Marshal Herc started from the leftmost: Aubrey Posen.

Her chin was stuck up high, almost 45 degrees north with her eyes leveled. Her twin brother, Luke was almost the same – only, his teeth were showing through those curled lips. Both of them saluted the Marshal after he pressed in the PPDC badges into their lapels, their right foot stepping up – almost knee level when they stomped it right down. The sound reverberating throughout the extremely high, ironclad ceilings.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the blonde smirking as she threw a glance over. Tendo cleared his throat.

"Aubrey and Luke Posen. The pilots for _Lemon Playlist._ "

Well, at least the Jaeger matched their blonde.

* * *

The next coupling was a surprise. Probably the least expected duo whose compatibility exceeded even that of Chloe's and mine.

99.8%

"Bumper Allen and Donald Stanislaw. The pilots for _Dajnty Lady._ "

Mad applause and cheers broke out amongst the crowd. Everyone was either laughing gaily or slapping the two men on the backs. They looked embarrassed all the time with red climbing up the back of their necks whilst throwing stare daggers at each other.

They _almost_ killed each other during every physical.

And now they shared a bunker.

"Oh joy!" I remember Donald mumbling when he lugged his packed duffels past me.

* * *

"Stacie Conrad and Cynthia Rose Dean. The pilots for- Uh. For _Hipster Overload_."

Tendo Choi could be so cute. The tiny man frowned as he went through the list again, his nose scrunched together. Marshal Herc walked past him and pressed in the same PPDC badges into the two women's flightsuit lapels; the grins on their faces almost stretched past their ears.

"Oh heck yeah, they chose my suggestion!" Cynthia Rose (who actually preferred people to call her CR) cried out just as Marshal continued to the next coupling, her pink fringe fraying in the air. Her tall brunette partner reached out her hand in response and they did some fancy high-five of sorts (or was it a fist bump?).

* * *

"It's our turn, it's our turn!"

The crowd had finally quietened down after the commotion caused by the _Hipster Overload_ pilots. The two of them launched into some sort of musical riff-off and got everyone singing.

Everyone, except Marshal Herc, Aubrey and myself.

The big man cleared his throat, his glare easily silencing those who dared eek any form of sound. His eyes roamed across the remaining four of us and landed on a petite Asian woman.

"Lilly Onakuramara and Benjamin Applebaum. The pilots for _Qwerty Echo."_

The Jaeger enthusiasts.

Marshal Herc smiled – rare, as he studied the two fresh faces before him. Lilly's literally squirming with excitement whilst Benji was- Was that foam on his mouth? The wait was obviously overkilling this duo.

* * *

I watched his weathered boots stop in front of me. Almost parallel to my own polished, shiny ones.

"Chloe Beale and Beca Mitchell. The pilots for _Ai_."

And that was the end of the ceremony. Although it did finish with a sumptuous bang – Fat Amy had never been this excited.

Or quick.

Not even dissecting a secondary Kaiju brain could achieve this effect.

"Buffet line, baby!"

* * *

Training as pilots has begun. It was a day in, day out process lasting up to 14 hours a day.

Every Handshake felt stronger than ever. She was knowing me and me, her. In fact, it's happening for all of us.

"Be careful!" She yelped, her underarms resting in my hands – just an inch before she nearly collapse in the elevator. Her chest heaved up and down, beads of sweat rolling down her sideburns. We stayed like that for a while.

A good thing no one else pressed for the elevator.

_I'm okay._

* * *

"Don't you have any fear?" She asked one morning, eyeing my plate of scrambled eggs and hot dogs before darting her sight back to her own polished one. Greasy, but all gone.

I shook my head, shoving my plate over to her and watching her wolf down the last bits of food. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Fat Amy's jaw drop at the speed of her chowing.

"That's- Strange- Beca." She commented between mouthfuls, looking up just as Stacie and CR arrived at our table. The duo arched their eyebrows suspiciously at the hungry redhead, casting a look at each other before tossing their apples over to her, almost missing her hands.

But she caught both expertly, impressing the tall _er_ brunette seated beside me.

She smirked as she took over CR's hot cocoa, "So, I heard that _headspace_ training is almost over. Next up: real time."

Fat Amy almost spat out her own drink. "Real time?" She wheeled right around and stared at me. "As in you're going to go head-on with a Kaiju?"

Raucous laughter erupted from our table, turning a few heads. Chloe, Stacie and CR grabbed their tummies as they howled and slapped the table, shaking the crockery.

"Naw, a simulator, Fat Amy," CR managed to squeak out in between gulps of air, "they won't throw us right into battle man. Not now, at least."

"Oh."

I rubbed at my best friend's shoulders – slow and in a tiny circle, just rubbing in the warmth into her, and her own lips pinched together forming a slight pout.

Yeah, Dr Geiszler has officially turned her into a Kaiju groupie.

* * *

"You still upset about all that _real time_ thing?" I nudged Fat Amy in the ribs as we ambled down the hallway – me towards Kwoon Combat room and her back to the lab.

She shrugged, sipping on her cola.

"Oh well. We could do with some fresh brains you know," her voice dipped to a new low, "I've been hinting – and when I say hint, I mean **hard** hinting, at Newt and he says it could be a possibility if I can get a totally undamaged brain. Primary or secondary, doesn't matter."

She must be kidding.

"I'm not kidding."

"You are. Kaiju appearance isn't a joke, Amy." Her stern voice echoed in our ears as she shoved right past us. I made sure of eye contact as she passed, that blister-causing smirk ever present on her face.

* * *

"Kaiju signatures reported off the shore from Cape Town, sir."

The first words I heard as I rushed into LOCCENT where the rest of the team were gathered. Chloe was already there, whirling around just as I stepped past the glass doors. Her usual cerulean now a clouded grey. Aubrey's next to holding her hand.

_Holding her hand._

"What are you doing?" I couldn't help but talk through my teeth, my hand snatching Chloe's right over. A strong sense of heat rising from beneath my gut.

The blonde simply tsked at me, her gaze remained fixed on the back of Marshal Herc who's currently hovering over the two circular holographic displays.

"Signatures? Like the ones we've got a few months back when they came near Miami?" Tendo shook his head, his face solemn.

"No sir, these red spots here are moving straight for their kill."

Their kill?

Silence. Marshal Herc's shoulders tensed and his back straightened a little bit. A small movement but big enough for every eye in the room to catch.

"It's a double event, sir. Cape Town's not ready."

* * *

Monstrous footprints were scattered all over Southern Africa in a span of three days. They took that city's only Jaeger with them. It was half-mast for every PPDC unit for the next couple weeks.

Training became almost unbearable.

Almost.

_Hang in there._

_Stop talking in my head._

_Can't help it if I could._

* * *

"We could have helped Cape Town, sir."

Everybody froze as if someone stopped time – all eyes on the tall blonde standing in the middle of the hangar. We watched as Marshal Herc slowly turned around, his eyes downcast and puffy - the way they were ever since the end of the Pacific Breach.

She took a step forward, closer to the damaged man and studied his rugged face. Her fists clenched to her sides, knuckles white with pressure as she awaited his response. When none came, she spoke again. Her voice deafening in this hangar of silence.

Silence.

"We could. You could have sent us."

"No."

"But sir, why! Why did we watch them die when we could help-"

"Aubrey."

* * *

So we did have a mission all along.

Behind shut doors, Marshal Herc and Dr Gottlieb revealed everything. Laid them cards around the table. None of us spoke when the alarms blared again.

Triple event heading towards Spain and Portugal.

Dr Gottlieb leaned on his walking stick and ambled over. "It's sooner or later, Rangers. They were unpredictable at first – my math couldn't see the meaning behind but now they've sent us a message and-"

Message. Fat Amy's right after all.

"-you can quit the program if you wish to," Marshal cut right in, ignoring the siren overhead. "But I do hope you would stay."

* * *

" _Hipster Overload_ ready for the drop."

The metal overlords that were the heavyset doors slowly pulled and slid open at Jaeger Holding Bay 3. Chloe and I watched on, standing behind Marshal Herc, Jesse and Dr Lightcap as the Orange-Cobalt Blue checkered Jaeger rolled out of the hangar towards Biscayne Bay, directed by the J-Tech crew.

Tendo flicked a few switches and punched in a couple of commands. "Neural Handshake, strong and holding."

"Listen, Rangers" the Marshal ordered, dragging and dropping the three green dots on the hologram screen, "follow _Lemon Playlist_ 's lead."

On the TV screen overhead, Lisbon's 25 de Abril bridge was being crushed by a Category 4. _Matador Glory_ could be seen in the background trying to get up from where it was after being thrown and tossed.

Its right arm torn from its body.

* * *

"Go big or go extinct, gentlemen!" Stacie's cheery voice could be heard over the speakers, making the redhead beside me giggle like a silly girl.

"We are the _Dajnty Lady,_ Stacie!"

"Shut up, you two and move faster. We have a task to accomplish."

"Oh Posen, take that stick out of your ass, will you?" was all I could say into Jesse's microphone when I got yanked by my collar and thrown into a chair. Marshal Herc even barked at Chloe to watch over me.

As if that would- Okay, she's sitting on me. Yes, this worked. This definitely worked.

"Hey Chloe, what are you doing in Beca's lap and how's everything? Did we miss it?" Benji panted while Lilly looked eerily calm with wide eyes next to him. Except – she wasn't exactly calmed.

* * *

Red alert, red alert.

* * *

"Rangers! We have a signature right near you! 100 miles, 6 o'clock." Silence. Static. Silence. Then some clearing of throat.

"P- Per- Permission to engage, sir."

_She's scared._

I gripped on to her hand and squeezed hard.

_She's not scared, Chlo. She's Aubrey._

* * *

Tendo pulled up another screen and zoomed into the radar map of Biscayne Bay. The single red dot was moving in fast towards the three green ones. 80 miles, 60 miles – everybody's counting.

Then it stopped.

"We've got a slight visual and it's not very clear. That dude's stopped 40 miles from us." CR's voice resonated across the room. "Permission to engage, sir."

Marshal Herc cussed under his breath, his brows knitted tightly together as he studied the visual of the Kaiju transmitted over. This looked worse than Slattern. Fat Amy could be wetting her knickers right now.

"I bet all my milkshakes that's a category 5."

Speak of the devil. Marshal nodded at Tendo's confirmation and grabbed the microphone over.

"Permission granted. Slay it."

Donald's voice came in next, sounding apprehensive. "It's not moving at all, sir. It's just staying put."

"What's that thing glistening down its arms? It doesn't look like Kaiju blood..." Chloe asked, leaning in so that she's whispering into my ear, her warm breath warming up my earlobe. "Is that..."

It was. Everybody in LOCCENT saw it.

"By golly." Fat Amy's last words before the red dot start moving again, faster than before towards _Dajnty Lady_. _  
_

* * *

"Take these," Jesse said, his voice soft and gentle as if afraid to break us. I peered down at the strange goggle-like device lying in my hands before arching my eyebrows at him. He motioned at all five of us, urging us to put the device on whilst his was snapped snuggly around his head.

It was pitch dark for a while before a few images appear before me. The sheer reality of it sent endless shivers down my spine.

It's _Lemon Playlist_ against the Slut (Fat Amy and Dr Geiszler had thusly named it). They're fighting back.

/

"What on earth is this!?" Luke screamed as he struggled against one of the tails – a heavyset chain sword that looked similar to the one from good ol' _Gypsy Danger_. Aubrey squirmed as the screeching sound of metal against metal increased in decibels, her own left arm raised and shaking under pressure.

"It's a hybrid, Rangers! A hybrid!" Dr Geiszler's sounding rather frenzied – excited, even. "I believe the alien masters have created a new breed of Kaiju out of _Gypsy'_ s part-"

Bumper cut right in, _Dajnty Lady_ having been tossed across the bay, nearly missing the docks. "It **is** the _Gypsy Danger_ that we're fighting here, Newt!"

"What?"

"Come on, Bump. We can do this." _Dajnty Lady_ got right back on her feet and poised for a run, her gears locking into place.

"Hammerfist?"

"You heard _me_."

Meanwhile, on the other end of the weird triangular fight ring in Biscayne Bay, _Hipster Overload_ was holding the monster in a grapple. The Posens had managed to overcome it – shooting acid bursts right onto its chest before tossing it over to the BFFs who jumped on her almost instantly.

"Man, it's strong!" CR huffed, both her arms raised.

"It's a good 9800 tons, of course it's strong! Come on boys, we can't hold her much longer!"

_Dajnty Lady_ was a good few yards away when she leaped into the cold night sky. Bumper's voice booming overhead in all Conn-Pods. "Back off now!"

And down went the Hammer Fist, connecting with the monster's chest and neck. It groaned as its sternum cracked – head leaned back and mouth wide open, baring its teeth. All three Jaegers halted their actions; the men panting hard from the special attack earlier but quickly resumed their fighting stance.

"CR, look! It's going down on one knee."

"What the heck was that moving across its ches- Is that metal?!"

"Donald, Bumper! Look out!" Aubrey screamed into her comms just as the monster leaped and lunged forward, throwing its entire weight onto the charcoal grey-orange Jaeger, pushing it down into the waters. Inside the Conn-Pod, both pilots were harshly thrown back and Donald howled in pain.

Everyone watched on with abated breaths and increased heart rates as the Slut drove one of its tails into the mid-section of the Jaeger.

* * *

"Chloe!"

I stepped and barely crushed her tossed goggles on the floor as I pounded after her, following her cries towards our bunker. Her scent filled the hallways as she pushed past bystanders who hardly had enough time to jump out of her way.

Lavender.

"Chloe!" I tried again. She kept on running, one foot after the other. Her boots making loads of noises against the metal floor, echoing down the hallway. "Chloe!"

This won't work. Wait.

_Chloe!_

_Leave me alone! I can't watch them die!_

I panted, huffing and puffing as I came face to face with the locked metal door. I pounded my fists against the teal entrance – again and again, begging her to let me in.

_Please._

Silence.

I lifted my fist once more only to have it yanked back. Another arm came and wrapped itself around my torso, almost lifting me up. It did pull me away and onto the adjacent hallway.

"Beca, Beca – stop!" Lilly?

It was Lilly. Why was she so loud suddenly? My breaths laborious as I darted my eyes around the three figures standing before me, their faces white with worry. We remained quiet for a while, catching up with our heart rates and listening to the redhead weep and thrash on the other side of the door.

"We should head back," Benji mumbled, lifting out his right hand towards me with his puppy eyes glistening. My best friend who stood next to him nodded her agreement.

_I'll be back. I'll be right back._

* * *

" _Dajnty Lady_ is severely damaged, sir!"

Marshal Herc sighed and rubbed at his temples whilst an anxious Tendo licked his lips, his eyes searching out Marshal's.

"They may not make it, sir." He repeated.

/

_Lemon Playlist_ lifted her head and puffed up her chest. A ear-piercing scream rent the air, making everyone cover their ears. Even the Slut was cowering - its metal tails retracted, allowing a hapless _Dajnty Lady_ to slide down on her knees, shoulders slouched.

"Au- Aubrey." Bumper slowly rose from the ground, his glass visor broken and cut into his cheeks. Yellow sparks were flying all around in his Conn-Pod in the midst of the rain coming in from the damaged hull.

"Don's out," he breathed out, "he's KO. Now, listen to me: I'm going to send this slugbag a piece of my ass before I'm going down. Once I did that, you and _HO_ move right in with your acid and whip, okay?"

"No, Bumper – **you** listen to me. Grab Donald and get out of there. Use the Evac-pods, **now!** "

The stocky brunette laughed coolly, his _haha_ s coming out in broken breaths as he reached towards the flickering HUD and tapped on the Jaeger armory list.

"Nuclear Dual Cannon activated."

A series of explosions threw the injured Jaeger backwards into the deep waters; Bumper smiled peacefully as he slowly closed his eyes.

/

The Slut screamed and yelped in pain as some of its chest plates burned and simmered in orange glow. It staggered backwards a little, its hand clutching and grappling at its newly inflicted injuries. This time, no more new metal plates appeared.

Stacie turned towards her BFF – her childhood friend since birth and CR nodded in understanding. Tapping on their Jaeger armory, both pilots swung their right arms to the side. An electrical whip shoot out from under _Hipster Overload_ 's right wrist, glowing and sparkling in bright blue. Stacie smirked and flicked her right wrist.

_Crack!_

Meanwhile, to the left of the monster, the Posens had finally come out from their shock.

"That idiot," Aubrey hissed, punching in a few commands on the overhead controls before swinging both arms out (and chest up), wolverine-style. Outside on the Jaeger, Sting-blades slid out above both wrists and the Jaeger resumed its fight stance.

" _Hipster Overload_. Whenever you're ready."

"Ready, Posen."

The Slut had barely enough time to look up after examining its wounds when a blue light flashed across its eyes and bound around its neck tightly. Its hands immediately went up to the offensive whip – _Hipster Overload_ gripping and pulling back hard behind, only to cramp and jerk in shock as a few thousand watts flew down its nervous system.

_Lemon Playlist_ made use of the monster's momentary paralysis and raced forward, both arms outstretched and directed towards its exposed flesh between what's left of the metal plates across its chest.

_Yeaawwwww!_

Luke and Aubrey grit their teeth and grunted, twisting their arms with their fists clenched as they turned and ground the Sting-blades deeper into the grey flesh. The Slut trashed about in deep agony, its scream already gone as both Jaegers held on for dear life.

"It's still alive! Posen, use the acid!"

"Acid Blasters activated."

With a last jerk of its chin towards the sky – as though indignant, the Slut finally slumped against the two Jaegers.

They won.

 


End file.
